Kevin and the Giant Peach

Fresh out of college in 1985, with a B.S. in Chemical Engineering, I went to work for the mother of all Blue Chip companies, IBM.

From the very first day on the job, though, I had the sense that this was not the way that people should be spending 40 hours a week, 50 weeks a year. It seemed unnatural. And, it turns out, it is unnatural. Man was not made for “shift-work”.

Before the industrial revolution at the turn of the last century (1800’s to 1900’s), most people earned their living either owning their own business (farming, store owners, building contractors, etc.) or as independent contractors (cowboys, ranch hand, store clerk, construction worker, etc.).

Being an independent contractor was as close to being an employee as you could get before the large factories and assembly lines required people be at a certain post at specific times.

As an independent contractor, you would be hired for a specific job. When the job was over, you were paid and then went on to look for another job.

People didn’t look for “job security” because it didn’t exist. (And the truth is, it never really did.)

Then, at the turn of the century, Henry Ford invented the assembly line. Factories were built to manufacture a large variety of different products. People flocked to the cities where these factories were located to get jobs standing on the assembly lines.

The “modern” work-place was born. You were expected to be on the job at a certain time of the day and for a certain period of time. You may or may not get take breaks. The line depended on you. This made some sense. After all, you couldn’t have a widget come down the line and have Joe Blow be absent from his spot when it was time for him to put the pin in the widget.

You were then compensated for your time on the line in the form of an agreed upon hourly wage.

The synergy between the employee and the employer was strong. The employer needed the employee in order for their product to be made. The employee needed the employer for the income to support themselves and their family.

If you were lucky enough to have received an education from a college or university, you could aspire to a supervisory or management position. If that was the case, you could spend your 8 hours a day behind a desk or in meetings.

The system worked. Economic and societal growth ensued. School curricula were created and modified to support this system.

No one would argue that the wealth of society improved as a result of the industrial revolution. However, the long term health of society and its individuals may have suffered when a dependent class of individuals was created in the process.

When steady employment is attained, there is no need to hone your skills specific to the job. There also is no urgency to hone your skills in sales and marketing – skill required to acquire the next job.

The independent contractor, on the other hand, must always be improving him or herself in their particular area of expertise. And they must constantly be marketing their expertise in order to attain the next gig, once the current gig is up.

The bad news – that employment as we’ve come to know it for the past 100 years – is also the good news. Some would say that we’re getting back to our roots as a nation of entrepreneurs and independent contractors. The employee is being squeezed out of the picture because of technology and the economic fundamentals of business.

Work requirements will be defined, directly, by the business owner rather than the manager(s). The work will get done by the independent contractor.

The independent contractor will not be beholden to a single business. And the business owner will not be obligated to retain the services of the independent contractor beyond the completion of the project.

This change is not only redefining the role of workers and employers. It is redefining the world.

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